


First Date, Second Try

by NoisyNoiverns



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, First Dates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-15
Updated: 2017-01-15
Packaged: 2018-09-17 05:20:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9307085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoisyNoiverns/pseuds/NoisyNoiverns
Summary: After a somewhat rocky start at the casino bar, Garrus tries a second time to make a good impression.





	

**Author's Note:**

> man i'm genuinely surprised there isn't more stuff with the turian woman you help a non-romanced garrus hook up with, they seem cute....

Garrus tried to avoid nice restaurants. They had an unspoken, unwritten code of behavior and dress, they were notoriously easy to be ruined by wayward talons, they came with a price tag that made his bank account weep, and he was pretty sure being associated with Shepard made most entrepreneurs wary of him anyway.

But, hey, he had a date.

The incident at the casino bar had just been supposed to be a simple hook-up, a one-night-stand to relax and enjoy being alive with no strings attached. Her name was Tasora Rennis, she was an ambassador from one of the colonies, she had an asari stepmother, and she’d thought it was cute that he’d needed his human friend to help him score. It should have been easy.

But then they’d been lying on the couch at her apartment, laughing and swapping stories of their respective bizarre friends, and the words had tumbled out of her mouth: “I’ll be honest, I haven’t had sex since _basic,_ I don’t think I can just do it on a whim, do you want to start over and try again later?”

And, to his great distress several hours later, he’d agreed.

So there he was, wearing a real, actual suit, walking into a real, actual restaurant, on a real, actual date. It had been her idea. Ease them both into it, get to know each other a little better, and all that. She’d admitted she was nervous about the whole idea; she’d spent so long married to her work, she wasn’t sure how to just relax and cut loose anymore.

It had been nice to hear that someone else had the same problem he did. He’d told her as much, and she’d laughed, and he’d smiled and made a note to himself. Maybe a date wouldn’t be so bad.

She’d told him to give her name at the door, so he did. The drell host went from disinterested to beaming almost instantaneously- apparently, she was a favorite customer. The table he was led to was in a secluded area, a booth tucked into the corner by a spacious window with a picturesque view of the Kithoi Ward skyline. As they passed nearly every kind of alien imaginable, Garrus couldn’t help but feel out of place. He could recognize a great deal of faces from the news, and sincerely hoped none of them could do the same for _him._ There were ambassadors, and high-profile C-Sec officers, and he thought he might even have caught a glimpse of Councilor Tevos across the room.

He couldn’t have been more relieved to see Tasora waiting for him.

“Good, you remembered,” she hummed, gesturing for him to take a seat. “Thanks, Druket.”

The host gave a little bow as Garrus slid into the booth. “Will there be any others, Ambassador?”

“No, just him,” she said. “Personal business tonight.”

“Very well. Your server will be along shortly.”

He vanished, and Tasora flicked a mandible. “My step-grandmother’s in politics, too,” she explained. “That whole side of the family frequents this place, so I started using it for business dinners.” Her mandibles went up, and she added, “I always bully everyone into tipping well.”

Garrus snorted. “Thanks for the advance warning.”

“Hope Shepard pays you well,” she said with a smirk.

“Who, that cheapskate?” he teased. “Doesn’t the news get any footage of how they scavenge?”

She laughed. “No, that’s not _inspiring_ enough. You want the wine list, by the way?” She picked up a datapad from in front of her and waved it in the air. “Better than that watered-down varren piss they serve at the casino.”

He accepted it from her with a nod, and she continued, “Thanks for doing this, by the way. I just… I don’t know, it’s been so long since I did much of _anything,_ it feels weird to just hop in bed with some random guy at a bar. I know it’s _common_ , but…”

“You need to ease into the idea,” he finished for her. “I understand.”

She flicked her mandibles upwards, then squirmed in her seat. “So, if we’re calling this a do-over…”

There was a brief, awkward moment of eye contact, then Garrus coughed into his fist, shook out his neck, and offered her his hand. “Garrus Vakarian,” he said, hoping this was a good way to start. “Advisor to Primarch Victus on the Reaper threat and executive officer on the SSV _Normandy_.”

She smiled and shook his hand with a nod. “Tasora Rennis. Ambassador for the planet Invictus to the Citadel Council, and occasionally, the fourth-degree embassy understudy.”

Garrus raised a brow plate as he withdrew his hand. “‘Fourth-degree’?”

She shrugged, fluttering her mandibles. “I’m Ambassador Orinia’s backup. _She_ backs up Ambassador Quentius, and _he_ backs up the councilor. It’d take a series of very unfortunate miracles to get _me_ taking the top spot for a few hours.” She folded her arms and leaned on her elbows. “Are you _really_ on the _Normandy_?”

He blinked, then leaned back in his seat, spreading his mandibles and trying to look nonchalant. “Since 2183.”

Her eyes gleamed. “So you work with _Shepard?”_

He tilted his head, putting his crest on display. “Shepard _personally_ recruited me.”

He wasn’t sure how to describe the look in Tasora’s eyes, but her subvocals were rumbling with mischief. She dropped her voice to a low, husky tone and said, “Have _all_ the sex with me.”

His neck went hot with blood at the same time as she fell back in her seat, neck flushing bright blue. Her hands flew up to clamp over her mouth in a futile attempt to muffle the fact that she was giggling madly. “Spirits, I’m sorry, I can’t believe I just _said_ that, I just- _spirits,_ I’m _so_ sorry!”

It felt like his own tongue was trying to choke him. “I thought you said you weren’t into casual hookups,” he managed to get out.

Her hands moved up to cover her eyes as well as her mouth, and she peeked out at him from between her fingers. “What’s that thing the human interns are always saying… Just because I don’t walk the walk doesn’t mean I can’t talk the talk.”

He tilted his head. “And what’s that mean?”

She cleared her throat and shook her head, then sat up again, folding her hands neatly in front of her. “It means I was spending time with my older brother earlier, and he has a very… _infectious_ way of talking, so to speak.”

Garrus raised a brow plate and flicked one mandible. “So, were you _not_ offering, then?”

Her mandibles clicked against her jaw. “That depends on how the rest of the night goes, pretty boy.”


End file.
